Microsoft aiming to accommodate walk-ins for Xbox One launch

Wants stock available for "parents who don't think about pre-ordering electronics."

On September 4, Microsoft's Kinect-attached Xbox One will try once again to annoy Japanese gamers who live in small living rooms.

When the last generation of game consoles launched, you would have been hard pressed to get your hands on limited launch-day stocks without an early pre-order. This time around, Microsoft hopes to combat that problem by managing hardware stock and shipments so that retailers have systems available for walk-ins on November 22.

"You want people to be able to walk in the store and buy one on day one, so you're trying to manage the inventory that isn't pre-sold," Microsoft Game Studios Vice President Phil Spencer said in a recent Game Informer interview. "It's not a yield problem, it's us trying to manage the hardware side. I want parents who don't think about pre-ordering electronics to be able to walk in and have a chance to find a box. There might be a line, but I don't want it to be that if you didn't pre-order in September, you can't get one. That doesn't feel like a great consumer experience."

As of this writing, pre-orders for the Day One Edition of the Xbox One are still being taken online at the Microsoft Store. Best Buy, Target, and GameStop are also offering Day One system pre-orders in bundles with software and an extra controller. The PlayStation 4 is currently sold out of launch-day pre-order stock at most major US retailers, though Kmart appears to be taking pre-orders.

I'll be honest, I was too tempted by the one-liner to make a complete argument. That said - those links don't contradict my point at all. We don't have any unit counts. If - hypothetically, which I shouldn't have to say but I'm sure someone will argue with these numbers - there were ten million PS4s available for pre-order and one million XB1s, all those links could still be entirely accurate without making an argument against my point at all.

What we've seen so far is PS4 pre-orders are closer to sold out than XB1 pre-orders. That doesn't give us enough information to judge their comparative demand.

We can infer from how responsive MS has been to customer feedback that they feel there's room for improvement on the demand side (presumably, if there had been pre-orders sufficient to cover their next year of production, they wouldn't be inclined to tamper with their marketing).

Even that's a shaky conclusion, though; it's possible they were hitting their short-term demand targets but projected long-term problems large enough to change course this early.

*shrug*

The point is, we can't actually conclude much from the information that's out there right now (at least, not that I've seen). So I took the opportunity to propose one possible explanation for this statement, in part because I thought it was amusing.

As of this writing, pre-orders for the Day One Edition of the Xbox One are still being taken online at the Microsoft Store. Best Buy, Target, and GameStop are also offering Day One system pre-orders in bundles with software and an extra controller. The PlayStation 4 is currently sold out of launch-day pre-order stock at most major US retailers, though Kmart appears to be taking pre-orders.

Which is probably what he was referring to, as most places are still accepting them...

As of this writing, pre-orders for the Day One Edition of the Xbox One are still being taken online at the Microsoft Store. Best Buy, Target, and GameStop are also offering Day One system pre-orders in bundles with software and an extra controller. The PlayStation 4 is currently sold out of launch-day pre-order stock at most major US retailers, though Kmart appears to be taking pre-orders.

Which is probably what he was referring to, as most places are still accepting them...

What? He didn't say 'low compared to PS4' he said low, as in an absolute.

And that's not at all certain, especially now, and especially considering the links in the article I quoted.

I'll be honest, I was too tempted by the one-liner to make a complete argument. That said - those links don't contradict my point at all. We don't have any unit counts. If - hypothetically, which I shouldn't have to say but I'm sure someone will argue with these numbers - there were ten million PS4s available for pre-order and one million XB1s, all those links could still be entirely accurate without making an argument against my point at all.

What we've seen so far is PS4 pre-orders are closer to sold out than XB1 pre-orders. That doesn't give us enough information to judge their comparative demand.

We can infer from how responsive MS has been to customer feedback that they feel there's room for improvement on the demand side (presumably, if there had been pre-orders sufficient to cover their next year of production, they wouldn't be inclined to tamper with their marketing).

Even that's a shaky conclusion, though; it's possible they were hitting their short-term demand targets but projected long-term problems large enough to change course this early.

*shrug*

The point is, we can't actually conclude much from the information that's out there right now (at least, not that I've seen). So I took the opportunity to propose one possible explanation for this statement, in part because I thought it was amusing.

Well, I disagree with your premise, but I understand... I too have been tempted by the sweet pith

edit: I really wish the stealth downvoters would post the reasons they disagree! Downvote me, by all means, but tell me why, by criminy.Especially in an environment of what I hope is honest argument.

Robots are cheap today and manufacturing is a science, no longer an esoteric art. Vendors, especially those with big budgets, are able to modulate production in real time to satisfy anticipated demand.

If demand is there, there will be boxes to match it. If there's no demand, we'll know in a week or two. We may not know the exact number of boxes sold but we know the factory capacity. One way or another we'll know. The "Sold Out" sign is no longer used to fool the public, at least by serious companies.

I hate to suggest it, but the only easy and obvious solution to the eBay reseller problem would probably be do in-store activations, that tie the unit to the buyer onsite. Maybe have "six month" Xbox Live Premium contracts or something like that. After the six months, you can sell it with no impediments.

Of course, this is just one solution to a very specific part of the problem. Another solution is to just not to give a hoot on day one, and just wait for the eBay opportunists to get bored and buy one a couple months later.

Robots are cheap today and manufacturing is a science, no longer an esoteric art. Vendors, especially those with big budgets, are able to modulate production in real time to satisfy anticipated demand.

I'd like to believe you, but Microsoft recently had a $900 million write down due to unsold Surface inventory. Some manufacturers effectively modulate production in real time. I would argue that Microsoft has proven they do not.

I dunno. I'd think some US parents "who don't think about pre-orders" might go for the PS4. It's out a week earlier and is $100 cheaper. Just depends on how brand loyal little Johnny is to his current mega corporation of choice.

I dunno. I'd think some US parents "who don't think about pre-orders" might go for the PS4. It's out a week earlier and is $100 cheaper. Just depends on how brand loyal little Johnny is to his current mega corporation of choice.

A lot will depend on where groups of friends get. I know a few people who console groups are planning to move to PS4 from the 360 after the Xbone details. I think PS3 fans will stick with PS3 due to the already great value of PS+ and continuing that subscription to play online on the PS4. Microsoft is the one who will be churning more people to the PS4 and has been trying their best (beyond exclusives) to stop that.

Before its a big investment to get all your friends to change from Live to PS3 online. Now that they will be making an investment, they have a chance to make a new choice that is not Xbox.

This is nonsense.They just want the free press from hopeful people standing in line, then the free press from reporting that their dreams were crushed because demand is so high. There is literally no other reason to not pre sell everything they have so people don't have to deal with that ridiculousness. It's also comical he's talking about parents, the XBOne isn't a kids console and the games aren't for kids.

(Parents show up)"Jesus, wtf is this line for? It's going all the way around the building!""It's for the new x-box that just released.""Oh, fuck that, we're going home."(Parents leave. Little Timmy whines. Parents tell him to #dealwithit until christmas shows up.)

Robots are cheap today and manufacturing is a science, no longer an esoteric art. Vendors, especially those with big budgets, are able to modulate production in real time to satisfy anticipated demand.

I'd like to believe you, but Microsoft recently had a $900 million write down due to unsold Surface inventory. Some manufacturers effectively modulate production in real time. I would argue that Microsoft has proven they do not.

You proved my point that the "Sold Out" sign is no longer an excuse or used as a marketing gimmick. Whether Microsoft overproduced Surface intentionally or because it misread demand is beside the point. They probably believed that they would be able to sell all of them and overproduced it to get better manufacturing deals. That, I don't know, but the point I was trying to make (regarding Sold Out signs) stands.

Given that this device is an XBox console, not a Surface, I don't exactly believe Microsoft is going to have any problems moving units, whether through preorders or through retail. It's not like this is a fully untested device on a brand new ecosystem as Surface was, or a brand new gimmick like the Wii U was...

I agree that without knowing how many units were ordered up, there is no way to compare preorders of the 2 new consoles.But, free game with the xbox one and now 'stock on shelves' for people who don't preorder says to me that demand is not where MS would like it to be for the xbox one.Ultimately, i dont think that it makes any difference because console sales are all about the games but i have to wonder how people are going to hook up these new consoles to their tv's while keeping the older consoles also hooked up. I only have 4 hdmi ports and they are already all taken, since the new consoles are not backwards compatible they have to stick around..leaving a pile of heat generating electronics around the tv.

I agree that without knowing how many units were ordered up, there is no way to compare preorders of the 2 new consoles.But, free game with the xbox one and now 'stock on shelves' for people who don't preorder says to me that demand is not where MS would like it to be for the xbox one.Ultimately, i dont think that it makes any difference because console sales are all about the games but i have to wonder how people are going to hook up these new consoles to their tv's while keeping the older consoles also hooked up. I only have 4 hdmi ports and they are already all taken, since the new consoles are not backwards compatible they have to stick around..leaving a pile of heat generating electronics around the tv.

Two things: First, a five port HDMI switch box runs about $30 these days. You may want to spend a bit more though, as the cheap ones seem to have a high attrition rate.

Second, the Xbox One has an HDMI In port to allow it to control the output fro a cable box and integrate with it via HDMI's networking. However, this will initially only have support in the US and even be dependent on who your cable company is. An alternate use for the HDMI In is to have two devices connected to the same port, and the Xbox One passing the signal on when it has no reason to use the display.

This HDMI In may also be used with a future low cost cut down version of the 360 to provide backward compatibilty, using the X1's optical drive and controllers. Microsoft was known to be thinking about a version of the 360 that would be sold as a high-end Roku sort of product but it was put on the back burner.

If this round of the console wars comes down to a victory by logistics I will laugh very hard. It would make a lot of sense wouldn't it? If the console isn't on the shelf to purchase sales are being lost. While the Xbox One may cost a little more, the difference isn't as stupendous as it was with the PS3 in the early days. With the architectural similarities between the two I could easily see early sales determining install base and thereby exclusive availability and other developer support.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.